Dance with me
by Seth Fox
Summary: Neji is dragged along to a medieval/renaissance music festival, where he meets a man whom everyone admires for his dancing skills. The man catches Neji staring and drags him out to the dance floor. ShikaNeji, fluff. AU. For the music; ask me.


**Dance with me**

_By Seth_

_/Small author's note... there's accompanying music with appropriate credits in the comments. If you want to hear what I heard when I thought of this story, you could click that. If not, have fun reading it anyway/_

_-France, 2008-_

It was a hot summer afternoon, although the grey clouds at the horizon predicted rain for later that afternoon. An excited atmosphere hung over the ancient town centre. If one looked at the streets and the main square, one could just imagine being in the middle ages. The market with the home-made jam, candy and bread, the pottery exhibition, the tavern-like set-up of the tables where food was being served and beer was flowing without restraint... it could have been a painting of a medieval festival, had it not been moving.

The entire town was filled with people of all kinds, though most were hippies and other kinds of strange folk. Some were dancing, some were watching, others just walked past... but all were smiling.

Neji stood to the side of the square where the dancers were, a scowl upon his face. He scanned the streets around the square, but all was quiet. He sighed. Not even this medieval looking village filled with all the happy festival-goers could lighten his mood.

His eyes were subconsciously drawn to the centre of the square, where a group of dancers directly surrounded the musicians. And there, in that small cluster of people who were dancing and laughing, that man stood.

Neji sighed again. He had been watching this man dance on the square all afternoon. Jigs, circle dances, anything you could think of; this man could dance them all. It was almost like one of the faery had come to life and joined the crowd on the square.

The man's looks added to this image. His long, brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, showing his slightly pointy ears perfectly. He wore a brown, sleeveless top, old and battered brown leather dancing shoes and a red, green and yellow kilt, which flowed with every movement the man made. Sometimes he sat out one round to smoke a cigarette, but as soon as he had disappeared he would return, sometimes with a skip and a jump, other times with the subtle grace of a nobleman.

Neji wished that he could dance like that, that he could be admired like that. The man was constantly swarmed by admiring people who wanted nothing more than to be his dance partner. Of course Neji would never admit to being part of this group, but still he kept staring at the man's calm grace and that sweet face that radiated happiness.

In the middle of the dance the man looked up from his dance partner and his eyes met Neji's across the square. Neji looked away hastily, but to no avail. The man had caught him staring, that much was sure.

The dance ended; Neji prepared to leave. Suddenly, there was a voice beside his ear; a rich, warm voice, which reminded Neji of the sun on a tree's bark. "Wait." The voice said. "I want to talk to you."

He halted mid-step and turned towards the person who had spoken. It was the dancer from the square, lighting a cigarette and casually offering Neji one. Neji declined. "What do you wish to talk about?" he asked coolly, trying not to let the other see what effect his sudden appearance had had on him.

The dancer leaned against the wall next to Neji and blew out some smoke. "I noticed that you've been watching me." He said. "All afternoon I've felt someone's eyes on me, and just now I finally realised that it was you."

Neji swallowed audibly, prepared to defend himself about the staring, to waylay accusations, but the man spoke on before Neji got the chance to say anything.

"I felt flattered, to be honest." He said. "But I am also curious. If you like watching the dancers that much... why don't you dance? I know you have been standing there all afternoon. Why didn't you join in?"

Neji shrugged. "I can't dance." He said. "I was watching you dance, and all the while I thought of how wonderful it would be to be able to dance like that."

The man smiled. "I see." He said. "Then would you like it if I taught you? You look like you could use a little relaxation, and there is nothing more soothing to the soul than dancing."

Neji was about to shake his head when the next song started. The man perked up. "Fidhe ra Huri!" He cried out. "One of the best. Come on, this one you have to try."

Before Neji could protest the other had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him onto the dance floor. Neji tried his very best to keep the pace, but found it hard. He kept stumbling over his own feet, and he could feel the annoyed stares from the other dancers.

But Neji was a quick learner, and now that he was on the dance floor he had no intention of giving up before the end of the dance. He observed the other's feet closely, and because he had watched all day he was quickly able to identify the dance they were dancing right now. It took him half the song, but suddenly his feet fell into the pace and he could keep up with all the other did.

When the song was over, Neji and his newfound dance-partner dropped out of the huge circle that had formed around the stage and sat down to the side. The man laughed. "You really got the hang of it." He complimented Neji. "I've never seen anyone pick it up so fast. Would you care to try a few more dances?"

Neji smiled, still a bit giddy and breathless with excitement. "I would like that." He said. "If you wouldn't mind teaching me."

And thus they danced away the afternoon and the evening away. The dancers cleared a space and watched as the two young men twirled and circled each other, passionate and gentle at the same time. To onlookers it seemed like magic, the way those two interacted with each other and with the music.

Neji didn't realise any of this. All he could think of was that hand on his, the next step, the breathless laughter of the other when Neji made a small mistake, the gasps of excitement at a difficult move that went well. The only thing Neji knew was the pounding rhythm of the bodhran and the speedy notes of the flutes.

When the music stopped for a short break, Neji and the man received a loud applause. With a shy smile they took it in, as well as all the compliments, and went for a break. They both got a cup of mead and a descent medieval meal (consisting of bread, freshly baked meat and an apple).

"That was amazing." The dancer said as he handed Neji his plate. "I've never interacted with someone on the dance floor like this before."

Neji blushed. "You're just flattering me, I'm sure." He said. "Nevertheless, it was fun."

The other snorted. "I'm completely serious." He said. "I don't lie, and I don't exaggerate. I wish I'd met you at the start of the festival. And you dared to say that you can't dance!"

Neji grinned. "Well, I didn't know that I could dance before tonight." He said. "And I guess I have to agree with you. I wish I'd been here two days ago. It would have been interesting to say the least."

Their eyes locked; brown met white in a questioning glance. "You weren't here from the start?" The dancer asked, taking a bite of his apple. "Why?"

"I was dragged along by a friend. I didn't even want to go here at first. She dragged me along into town and dumped me by the square. Although I must say that I don't regret coming anymore."

The dancer broke their eye-contact immediately. For a moment, Neji imagined seeing an alien emotion in his eyes... something like sadness.

"Ah, your girlfriend, I presume?" He asked nonchalantly.

Neji laughed out loud. "Ino, my girlfriend?" He chuckled. "Not in a million years. She's all head over heals for someone she met here last year. She's been bemoaning the fact that he is gay the entire car-ride here."

The dancer perked up. "Ino?" He asked. "Yamanaka Ino?"

Neji looked up, surprised. "Yes, that's her. You know her?"

The dancer smirked. "You could say so, yes." He muttered. "She was all over me last year. Until I told her that I had a boyfriend, that is. Then she buggered off quickly. Of course I didn't have a boyfriend after that night..." He looked away again.

This time, Neji was sure there had been a hurt look in the other's eyes. "What happened?" He asked in a concerned tone of voice.

The dancer shrugged. "He dumped me for someone he met here. Left me all alone in the middle of the dance floor to go to his new lover."

Neji was amazed. "And you still have the guts to come back here? It must hold so many painful memories!" he cried out.

The dancer smiled. "Yes, it does. But dancing is my life, I realised that soon enough. I tried to quit... I thought that was the only way to get over him. But without dancing... I could not have done it. It did give me a tendency to switch partners before I got to know them though... I haven't danced with the same person more than three dances in a row since the beginning of the festival."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Except for me." He commented dryly.

The dancer leaned in, his eyes glittering in the light of the candle on their table. "Yes." He said. "Except for you."

He held out his hand. "My name is Nara Shikamaru." He said. "May I ask for yours?"

Neji smiled. "I am Hyuuga Neji." He said, and grabbed the hand. In one swift move, he pulled the other to his feet and back onto the dance floor. "Your only dance partner from this moment onwards."

-The end-


End file.
